Barry Gardiner: My hon. Friend is entirely right. The Henry VIII powers show that the Government also realise that it is not simply replica provisions that are being rolled over but, in fact, new agreements that may contain substantially different clauses. Because of that, they need powers to be able to progress those agreements. The Committee tried to address that during its sitting last Thursday afternoon but the Minister has been reluctant to take the matter on board, even when pressed on how he thought, given the Government’s red lines, he would be able to roll over our current agreement with Norway on the free movement of people, and that with Turkey on the relationships we have through that country’s agreement with the EU customs union. The Minister has failed comprehensively to address those points. It would be interesting if he were to do so when he responds to this group of amendments, but I fear my hon. Friend might languish in hope rather than expectation of the privilege of hearing such a response.
The arrangements in these new agreements would be laid before Parliament for a few days without the requirement of either a debate or a vote, and at the end we would find out that the Secretary of State had appropriated the power to rewrite primary legislation by turning himself into a modern-day Henry VIII. This is not just an abstract threat. I was pleased to read the written evidence submitted to this Committee by the civil liberties organisation Liberty, which agrees with us that
“the Trade Bill presents a significant threat to the rule of law”
and human rights. Liberty argues, as do we, that the inclusion of the Henry VIII power in clause 2 is unacceptable to anyone who believes in parliamentary sovereignty. If we go back to the beginning of the process of Brexit, some people believed it was entirely about regaining parliamentary sovereignty, not about giving increased powers to the Executive.
Liberty points out that the Bill’s reference to primary legislation that is retained EU law could include such vital Acts of Parliament as the Equality Act 2010 and the Modern Slavery Act 2015, as well as legislation to combat climate change, such as the Energy Act 2013. Crucially, it could also include the Data Protection Bill currently under consideration by Parliament, which implements the EU’s general data protection regulation. We have been told on numerous occasions by businesses and their representatives from the service sector just how important it is for their post-Brexit cross-border exports to be granted what is called adequacy status under the general data protection regulation. Any change  to such a crucial piece of legislation must surely be brought through Parliament and not done under the fiat of the Secretary of State.
The Government know they have exceeded the limits of what is acceptable in calling for a Henry VIII power under clause 2 and then suggesting that it is somehow appropriate for that power to come under the negative resolution procedure, the lowest form of parliamentary scrutiny. The delegated powers memorandum admits that it is a bridge too far, even for a Government such as this, stating:
“It is recognised that Parliament will want considerable assurances from the Government that this power will not be used beyond what is necessary to ensure a seamless transition of the agreements in scope.”
We have no interest whatever in “assurances from the Government”. We want the Government to show due recognition of the proper boundaries to its powers in a mature democracy such as the UK. We are not a tinpot dictatorship, and we resent the suggestion that assurances can ever represent a sufficient substitute for parliamentary democracy. That is why our amendment would remove this Henry VIII power entirely and require any modifications to primary legislation to be undertaken in the correct manner, with full parliamentary involvement.
Finally, I turn to amendment 10, where we seek to rectify the Bill’s failure to define what is meant by the vague category of international trade agreements that mainly relate to trade but are not free trade agreements. The explanatory notes suggest that this will include
“key trade agreements, and associated ancillary agreements, that the EU currently has with third countries.”
The note gives one example only, namely mutual recognition agreements. Dr Lorand Bartels, in his oral evidence, said that it might also include customs co-operation agreements that relate to trade facilitation. Ultimately, national legislation is not doing its job properly if it leaves everyone playing a guessing game regarding what it might or might not refer to, and especially not if it seeks to transfer unprecedented powers to the Executive.
We have tried to help the Government out here—I am being very helpful to the Minister this morning, if only he would realise it. Our amendment takes up the challenge from the explanatory notes and identifies the two main categories of agreement that have traditionally accompanied the EU’s free trade agreements as ancillary texts in recent years—either, in the case of mutual recognition agreements, because they help to minimise unnecessary non-tariff barriers in the regulatory sphere, or, in the case of strategic partnership agreements, because they establish social and political conditionalities to accompany the commercial aspects of the trade agreements themselves. At the end of the day, we need the Government to say what they have in mind for that category. Of course, it may be that Ministers have nothing in mind, and it would be good to know that, too. The public and the country need certainty, and the Bill does not provide it in those areas.

Greg Hands: Of course—the hon. Gentleman was not yet elected at that time.
The Government’s intention is clear. This is a technical rollover: there will not be substantive changes to the agreement. However, that is not what this amendment deals with. The amendment talks about making sure that all deals that have yet to be ratified are outside the scope of the Bill. Our position is clear: agreements that have been signed but not yet ratified should be within the scope of the Bill.
On amendment 9, the clause 2 power is a restricted so-called Henry VIII power. It allows only for the amendment of primary legislation that is retained EU law. As I think we all now know, retained EU law is EU law that the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill converts into UK law, as well as the EU-derived domestic law that the Bill preserves. It is a very restricted power.
Because transition trade agreements will have been implemented substantially through EU law, we may need to amend retained EU law if we are to implement any technical changes but keep these agreements operable beyond exit day, which clearly must a goal for all us. That is why it has been necessary to ensure that the clause 2 power can amend a specific part of primary legislation. Removing this aspect of the power would jeopardise its ability to ensure continuity and future operability in our existing trade agreements.
We should also note that, as little primary legislation is retained EU law, this is a highly restricted so-called Henry VIII power. Let me be clear that this power cannot be used to amend the vast body of primary legislation that is not retained EU law—that is in line with our intention to use the power only to maintain the effects of our existing trade agreements.
We have also constrained the power in other ways, by including a sunset clause that I know we will debate in later amendments, and by preventing it from being used to implement a free trade agreement with a country that has no such agreement with the EU before exit day.
Amendment 10 would narrow the definition of a trade agreement to the extent that certain agreements that would be widely accepted as instrumental aspects of trade relationships, such as bilateral procurement agreements, would be ruled out of scope.

Greg Hands: I am absolutely clear that this Bill relates to the transition of our existing trade agreements. How we approach future trade agreements will be a matter for future consideration. I mentioned earlier that we will look carefully at the responses to the consultation. Of course, if the hon. Gentleman has views, we are keen to hear them. Indeed, we will be seeking views from across this House on what Parliament’s views on these matters might be, but that is entirely a matter for the future.
Amendment 10 would clearly create an unacceptable risk that agreements essential to trade could not be effectively provisioned. If the Members of the Committee are concerned about the scope of this power, please let me reassure them that, as I referred to earlier, we have already set out in clause 2 restrictions on the scope of the power.
Given these constraints, the existing drafting of the power, and our clear and firm assurances that this power is not intended to be used for the implementation of future trade agreements, it would be strange to include this amendment, which sets out the required procedure for future trade agreements. I therefore ask the hon. Gentleman to withdraw amendment 5.

Anna McMorrin: In his speech to the World Trade Organisation in Buenos Aires, the Secretary of State reaffirmed his commitment to trade as a main tool for development, which is fantastic. The Government should therefore be keen to support the   amendment, which reaffirms the UK’s commitment to the provisions of the SDGs, human rights, workers’ rights and environmental protections, which are key elements of development growth and stability, as the Secretary of State said.

Alan Brown: It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Ryan. I will expand briefly on the point I made in my intervention. We fully support the principles behind amendment 7. Scottish Water is still in public ownership in Scotland. Caledonian MacBrayne ferries recently went out to tender and there was a public sector bid, so that remains run by the public sector. Going forward, the Scottish Government are looking at the ScotRail franchise possibly coming into the public sector, as well as public sector energy companies. Of course, we all value the different national health services across the constituent countries of the United Kingdom.
The hon. Member for Sefton Central touched on Carillion, which is certainly a good example of how private does not always equal better. We have now seen the latest east coast main line fiasco—Stagecoach and Virgin were able to walk away and not honour their commitment to the public purse in the franchise moneys they were meant to pay. It is clear that that service has been run successfully in the public sector before and there is no reason why that could not be done again. We would certainly like to see more rail franchises operated by the public sector.
For those reasons, we would welcome these protection being added to the Bill. I would like to think that the amendment is not really required, but there does sometimes seem to be a confused position in the Labour party. The leader of the Labour party, the right hon. Member for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn), has suggested that we cannot be in the single market and have rail nationalisation. This is not correct, given how many  national rail companies operate in the UK and run UK franchises. Clearly, we can have nationalisation and be in the EU single market.

Judith Cummins: I beg to move amendment 8, in clause2, page2,line29,at end insert—
“(4A) Regulations may only be made under section 2(1) if—
(a) the provisions of the international trade agreement to which they relate are consistent with standards for food safety and quality as set and administered by—
(i) the Department of Health;
(ii) the Food Standards Agency; and
(iii) any other public authority specified in regulations made by the Secretary of State;
(b) the Secretary of State is satisfied that mechanisms and bodies charged with enforcement of standards for food safety and quality have the capacity to absorb any extra requirement which may arise from the implementation of the agreement;
(c) the provisions of the international trade agreement to which they relate are consistent with policy to achieve reduction in the risk of disease or contamination as set and administered by—
(i) the Department of Health;
(ii) the Food Standards Agency; and
(iii) any other public authority specified in regulations made by the Secretary of State;
(d) the provisions of the international trade agreement to which they relate are consistent with achieving improvements in public health through any food policy priorities set and administered by—
(i) the Department of Health;
(ii) the Food Standards Agency; and
(iii) any other public authority specified in regulations made by the Secretary of State;
(e) the provisions of the international trade agreement to which they relate are compliant with policy to achieve targets for farm antibiotic reduction set by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate;
(f) the provisions of the international trade agreement to which they relate are compliant with retained EU law relating to food standards and the impact of food production upon the environment; and
(g) any food or food products to which the provisions of the international trade agreement apply meet standards of labelling, indication of provenance, and packaging specified by the Food Standards Agency.
(4B) A statutory instrument containing regulations of the Secretary of State under this section may not be made unless a draft of the instrument has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.”.
This would ensure that international trade agreements maintain or enhance food safety standards in the UK.
The amendment speaks to the critical issue of food and food safety, in the context of our future international third country agreements. No Committee member needs me to tell them of the central importance of maintaining food safety standards in this country and ensuring that the British people can have confidence in those standards. However, perhaps it is necessary to provide some explanation of why this has become such a totemic issue in the debate around international trade.

Matt Western: Does my hon. Friend agree that this is clearly an issue, as has been described, of consumer information and consumer rights, in terms of not just the quality of food being put on our plates but the conditions in which our animals are kept, the state of the abattoirs and the standards we maintain so highly in this country.